Bacterial Agents Causing Food Poisoning among Patients Attending Thika Level 5 Hospital, Kiambu County, Kenya
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Date
2019
Authors
Esther, Karanja N.
Nelson, Menza C.
Ephantus, Kabiru W.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scientific Research Publishing
Abstract
Food poisoning is caused by the ingestion of contaminated food or water
that contains microbial agents that cause illness or release their toxins onto
the food. Examples of these microbial agents are Staphylococcus aureus, Listeria
monocytogens, Clostridium botulinum, Salmonella typhiridium, and Salmonella
enteritidis. Epidemiological monitoring of food poisoning is highly desirable for
continuous determination of the existing causative species and disease trends.
The study was conducted at Thika level 5 hospital. The objective of the study
was to establish the prevalence of food poisoning at Thika level 5 hospital. A
cross-sectional study design and purposive sampling technique was adopted
in this study. Interview scheduled questionnaires and collection of stool samples from in-patients presenting with suspected food poisoning at Thika level
5, hospital was used for data collection. Stool culture tests were used to identify the bacterial causative agents of food poisoning. Statistical package for
social sciences (SPSS) was used in the analysis of the data. Ethical approval
was sought from Kenyatta University Ethical Review Committee, the Ministry
of Education Science and Technology and Kiambu County Government. Informed consent was sought from the respondents after they had been informed about the study. The study findings showed that of the sample taken
28 (26.4%) were positive of Cholera while 78 (73.6%) were positive of Salmonella. The study recommends early set-up of emergency wards to contain
outbreaks of infectious diseases together with well-equipped diagnostic labs
for prompt response.
Description
A research article published in Open Journal of Medical Microbiology
Keywords
Bacteria, Food Poisoning, Salmonella
Citation
Esther, K.N., Nelson, M.C. and Ephantus, K.W. (2019) Bacterial Agents Causing Food Poisoning among Patients Attending Thika Level 5 Hospital, Kiambu County, Kenya. Open Journal of Medical Microbiology, 9, 168-177